System of a Down and Deftones are teaming up for a string of mostly East Coast dates in August, tagging both PNC Bank Arts Center on August 4th and Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on August 5th. Tickets for both shows go on sale on May 5th. The shows are SOAD's first East Coast dates since taking a hiatus six years ago.

Though SOAD has been largely inactive as of late, Deftones have not. The band, which features ex-Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega while Chi Cheng recovers from his auto accident, has begun work on its new LP with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who was behind the boards for 2010's Diamond Eyes.

Chi Cheng is steadily improving according to a recent update, but he still needs your help

CHI IS READY TO GO HOME!
...and i need your help.
1. need to raise money to fly him home. this requires a medical flight.. runs about $20,000
2. need to raise money to buy him a hospital bed that does amazing things to avoid him acquiring bed sores.. runs about $15,000 USED!
3. (could be long term goal but would be nice to get asap for him) a wheel chair accessible van to transport him to and from his treatments and checkups. i am thinking it could run $20-30,000.

In other news, Chino Moreno of Deftones has joined on for another side project called Palms, this time featuring three-fifths of the final lineup of Isis (Aaron Harris, Clifford Meyer and Jeff Caxide):

"Clifford, Jeff and I started Palms a little over a year ago out of a desire to continue making music together after ISIS ended," explained Harris. "Chino joined shortly after and our sound took shape from there. We've worked really hard on this first release and are excited for people to hear it. It's nice to be back behind the drum kit, and with this line up."

"Being a huge ISIS fan I've always dug the moods these dudes convey with their sound," added Moreno. "I am excited to combine my sense of creativity with theirs, and to have fun doing so."

Look for that release via Ipecac later this year - no word on an exact release date.

Deftones dont have SOAD money. Theyre highly-respected and have had a great career, but bear in mind theyre playing places like Best Buy Theater on their own, not arenas, so I dont think it's crazy that theyre asking for donations. It's a more worthy cause than when one of your precious Brooklyn indie bands gets their gear stolen out of an unlocked van in Bushwick, like a bunch of amateurs.

SOAD have gone platinum like 5 times over and headline arenas. They could probably pitch in enough money to help.

It's $60k for these specific things, now. Keep in mind that Chi Cheng had his accident three and a half years ago. There have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars raised since then, and I'm sure the Deftones have generated a significant portion of that.

If Chi's estate didn't have enough cash sitting around to cover all the medical expenses, what makes you think the rest of them do?

Chi's been hospitalized in intensive care or whatever for YEARS. That tab must run into the millions (even with insurance). To say that his bandmates/record label/friends haven't shouldered huge portions of that financial (and emotional) burden is flat out ridiculous or even insulting. Deftones are making money, sure. But if you understand music biz economics, they're far from "rich." They've never "broken through," as they say, headlining arena shows. They've been relegated to Best Buy theater-sized venues and probably rely heavily on merch sales.

ok they are not RICH, but come on, they make more money than anyone reading this blog post.

This is a band that has been around for over a decade. I didn't even have pubes when I first heard of them in 1999.

they gotta be make 10-20k a night playing best buy theatre places.

sure it sucks that they gotta pay for CHI but such is life in a rock band. you suffer and succeed together.

Again, if this band can't afford to pay 60k for his treatment than we should all take our guitars to the pawn shop and just give up on our music careers. If the Deftones don't have 60k, or the ability to quickly make it, Im quitting the music industry.

people who went into a coma because of isis's last 3 albums are dumb-ass pee brains who like hearing an album being made over and over.and last time i checked isis was far a way from being a one trick pony.isis wasn't your average green day,nickleback, or deftones(cough cough), and i think most "honest" isis fans would agree with me.

ps:I'm a little hammered,so sorry if i offended any teenyboppers out there.

the hard truth is that, honestly, chino and his bandmates do not give two fucks about chi and his coma. Did they ever? Shit doesnt add up with it anyway. Never heard shit bout his accident.. like.. WHO caused him to go off the road?? At anyrate, chino lost a ton of weight and if he hadn' t no one would like deftones anyway. Deftones put out the second most successful album of their career in 2010 and, in my opinion, used chi' s accident to get even more attention. Sergio is a total dumbass and its so funny how its like chi never was there to start wih, judging how sergio seems to know everything in interviews, etc... Deftones and linkin park are annoying and cocky. They all have money, chi will end up dead, soad i dont know too much about but fuck them too